Official Website of the Central Valley Coyotes

For the Central Valley Coyotes (3-10) the 2009 season comes down to one game. Saturday July 11 the Coyotes travel to Stockton for the final game of their four game series against the Stockton Lightning (4-9), a game that has major playoff implications.

 

Eight of the twelve teams in the National Conference will make it to post-season play. The Lightning have beaten the Coyotes in two of the three games they have played this year and currently hold in the eighth playoff spot. The Coyotes currently are in the ninth playoff spot and must beat Stockton by more than eight points to pass them for the eighth position. If Stockton wins it will all but a guarantee that they will make it to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. If the Coyotes win, even by eight points their playoff hopes will simply stay alive but they will not be guaranteed a spot.

 

“As strange as it seems, at 3-10, we have a great shot at making it to the post-season,” stated Coyote Head Coach Fred Biletnikoff Jr. “Going to Stockton; a place where we have won 6 out of 7 games in four years, and getting a win needs to be something that everyone in our organization needs to be focusing on.”

 

If the Coyotes are going to have any chance of accomplishing the task ahead the offense is going to have to shift gears in a hurry. The offense has only scored a mere 39 points total in their last two games and has made things difficult for a defense that has given up 113 points in those two games. 21 of those points have actually come from offensive turnovers and special teams.

 

Offensively, Stockton is averaging 289.3 yards per game and 48.3 points per game while the Coyotes average 44.7 points per game off 268.5 yards per game; both statistics are franchise lows for the Coyotes. Defensively the Coyotes are giving up 57.5 points a game and lead the af2 in Total Defense giving up only 245.9 yards per game. Stockton on the other hand has given up 58.1 points per game and ranks 21st in the league giving up 299.7 yards per game.

 

“In a game of this magnitude you can take the statistics and numbers and throw them right out the window,” Biletnikoff continued. “Line em up, get after it for 60 minutes, and see what happens. We’ll be ready for this one.”

 

The Coyotes return to Selland Arena Saturday July 18, 2009 to face division rival the Spokane Shock. Kick-off is at 7:15pm and tickets are still available. For information on special group ticket prices please call the Central Coyotes Front Office at (559) 263-9780 or by visit our website at www.cvcoyotes.com